Much-needed frontcourt boost arrives for the slumping Los Angeles Lakers back home after their winless road trip.
The Lakers will welcome Jaxson Hayes back to the lineup this Sunday, March 16, against the Phoenix Suns after the big man missed the last four games with a right knee contusion. The Lakers listed their starting center probable to play in the latest official NBA injury report.
In 19 starts, the 7-foot Hayes averaged 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 blocks in 24.2 minutes. For the season, he is averaging 6.4 points and career highs in rebounds (4.6), assists (1.1) and blocks (1.0).
Hayes has not played since hyperextending his knee in the overtime before fouling out in their 113-109 win over the New York Knicks at home on March 6.
Without Hayes anchoring the middle, the Lakers’ once best defense slipped to 13th over their last four games, which he missed. His return gives the Lakers a much-needed interior presence as LeBron James (left groin strain) and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) remain out.
Jaxson Hayes Playing for Next Contract
Hayes is the only Lakers’ only legitimate lob threat for Luka Dončić. His improvement this season has cautioned the impact of Anthony Davis‘ loss, though the Lakers will still look for a starting-caliber center in the offseason after the failed Mark Williams trade.
Jaxson Hayes hasn’t just been improved this season — he’s been GOOD as a Rotation Big.
Hayes was a top-10 ‘Riser’ in our LEBRON metric long before Luka joined the Lakers pic.twitter.com/klViVK7fpZ
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) March 6, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The athletic center is heading into the most important stretch of the season and his NBA career, as he will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
A good showing in the homestretch and the postseason will likely guarantee Hayes to earn more than his $2.5 million salary for this season.
LeBron Out ‘Another Week’
They are all considered day-to-day. However, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that James is not expected to play anytime soon.
“This Saturday makes it one week,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, March 14. “He’s not expected to play Sunday on ABC against the Phoenix Suns from what I’m told. I would expect him to still miss another week so that would put him at about two weeks.”
James’ absence hastened the Lakers’ fall from second to fifth place in the Western Conference with 17 games left, the sixth toughest schedule remaining according to Tankathon.
The Golden State Warriors, currently at sixth with a 39-28 record, have put more pressure on the 40-25 Lakers with their seven-game winning streak. Only two games separate the Western Conference rivals with the Warriors having a lighter schedule, 15th in Tankathon’s remaining schedule strength.
After Sunday’s game, the Lakers face the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, March 17 on the second night of a back-to-back slate. Then they will have their third back-to-back games in one week in a rematch against the Nuggets on March 19 and the Bucks on March 20.
The Lakers won 20 of 25 games to climb to second seed in the West before injuries to Hayes and James derailed them. They had the best defense in the league during that stretch.
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